U.S. News & World Report ranks CU-Boulder second in world in geosciences

The Benson Earth Sciences Building at CU-Boulder. (Photo: Casey A. Cass/University of Colorado)

The University of Colorado Boulder recently was ranked second in the world in geosciences by U.S. News & World Report.

CU-Boulder trailed only the California Institute of Technology. Rounding out the top five are the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Harvard University and the University of Washington. U.S. News & World Report ranked the top 100 universities in geosciences in 2014 based primarily on their research and reputation.

Geosciences is considered the study of Earth, from its structure to the history of its formation. Studies in the field of geosciences include geology, geophysics, geochemistry, climatology, oceanography and petroleum geology.

“We are pleased to be recognized as global leaders in the field of geosciences,” said CU-Boulder Vice Chancellor for Research Stein Sture. “We have a very strong faculty that excels in research and teaching, and our departments, institutes and programs in the geosciences annually attract some of the best and brightest students from around the nation and world.”

Other institutions ranked in the top ten in geosciences by U.S. News & World Report last month include the University of California-Berkeley, Columbia University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.

The ranking categories included academic performance as rated by publications and citations, global and regional reputation, and international collaboration, according to the magazine.